A BRITISH boy who was allegedly kidnapped six years ago has been found alive and well in France.
Alex Batty, from Lancashire, was just 11 years old when he went missing during a family holiday in Spain in 2017.
PA:Press AssociationAlex Batty, from Lancashire, has been found alive in France after going missing in Spain in 2017[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationAlex’s mum Melanie Batty took her son on holiday in 2017 before he disappeared[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationAlex’s granddad David Batty, 58, was also on the trip in the Benehavis area, near Marbella[/caption]
Alex was travelling with his mum, Melanie, 37, and grandfather David, 58, when he was apparently abducted.
He had flown out on a pre-agreed trip with his mum and grandad, but his grandmother and legal guardian Susan Caruana remained behind in the UK.
And the three of them were expected to leave Marbella after just a week in the Benahavis area, but never returned.
Cops launched an investigation into his disappearance, but until today he remained missing.
They were expected home on October 8, but inquiries at the time suggested they may have sailed that day from Malaga to Mellilla on the Moroccan border.
His grandmother Susan, then 62, thought they might have adopted “an alternative lifestyle” somewhere abroad.
She said at the time: “They didn’t want [Alex] to go to school, they don’t believe in mainstream school.”
And she revealed that her daughter and ex-husband previously lived on a commune in Morocco with Alex in 2014.
Prosecutors believe Alex, who is now 17, has been found in Revel near Toulouse, southern France.
A local newspaper reported on Thursday: “The Alex Batty mystery is about to be solved.
It said that while he didn’t show any official ID to police who questioned him, he was able to identify himself.
“His face and his story correspond in every way to that of the Briton kidnapped in 2017,” it went on.
Investigators reportedly think he fled a rural community living in the Pyrenees mountains on foot.
Alex apparently hiked for days on foot before a lorry driver picked him up and contacted police.
The teen reportedly told the story of what had happened to him “serenely and calmly”.
He is now apparently with social services while officials wait for his family to come forward.
Early reports from cops suggest he was living in a “spiritual community” with his mother, mainly staying in tents and caravans.
His devastated guardian Susan said in 2018: “On the Sunday, they were due back in the afternoon and my husband was going to go and pick them up.
“I got this message on Facebook and it was a YouTube video of the three of them.
“They all spoke on it and Melanie said the reasons why they had done what they had done.
“Alex said it was a million times better being with his mum and granddad. Obviously it hurt me a bit but then my other concerns kicked in.
“The reason I believe they have done this is because basically my lifestyle, my belief systems, are not what they agree with – just simply living day to day, how normal people do.
“They didn’t want him to go to school, they don’t believe in mainstream school.”
PA:Press AssociationAlex’s gran, Susan Caruana, who was his legal guardian, said she thought the family might have adopted ‘an alternative lifestyle’ abroad[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationAlex, who is now 17, apparently hiked for days on foot to escape a commune in the Pyrenees mountains[/caption]